Lived experience

Lived Experience Capability Project

We are improving how we work with people who have lived experience. We recognise their knowledge is essential to improving mental health and wellbeing outcomes for all Australians.

The Lived Experience Capability Project will help build strong, ethical and consistent ways of engaging and partnering with people with lived experience across the Commission.

Meaningful lived experience engagement needs the right conditions, skills and a supportive organisational culture. This takes ongoing effort to build.

That is why the Commission created the Lived Experience Capability Project. It is a long-term initiative that will help us build the capability and culture needed for effective lived experience engagement.

Our aim is to make participatory ways of working part of our everyday practice. We want to ensure the knowledge and perspectives of people with lived experience are included in our work as standard practice.

The project will roll out across 2026–2027 and be led by the Lived Experience Capability Advisor.

It will be delivered in three phases:

program design
implementation
continuous improvement.

Staff can expect a range of training, tools, and resources to support high-quality and impactful engagement. We will also share what we are learning about the capability building process with the wider sector and community.

Acknowledgement of Country

The Commission acknowledges Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples as the Traditional Custodians of the lands and waters on which we live, work and learn.

Diversity

The Commission is committed to embracing diversity and eliminating all forms of discrimination in the provision of health services. The Commission welcomes all people irrespective of ethnicity, lifestyle choice, faith, sexual orientation and gender identity.